JCPD no longer has a place to dispose of prescription drugs

JEFFERSON CITY - The Jefferson City Police Department will no longer be able to take unneeded prescription drugs from the public.

JCPD Captain Doug Shoemaker said prescription drugs have been piling up in the department's evidence room since the Drug Enforcement Administration ended it's "take back" program in 2014.

"We thought maybe they would start it back up again," Shoemaker said. "Unfortunately they didn't, so we now no longer have a place to take the prescription medication that we used to take through the front lobby."

Shoemaker said the department continued to collected medicine in hopes to find an alternative.

"We actually have been taking it constantly," Shoemaker said. "We had a take back box in front of the lobby. Quite honestly, it was filled about every three days."

Shoemaker said the department has not found an alternative to dispose the drugs and collecting them is no longer an option.

"So we probably have close to about, I would guess, 400 pounds of prescription medication that's boxed up that we need to, at this point, figure out how to safely dispose of," Shoemaker said.

Pharmacist Cameron Schulte said pharmacies normally partner with fire or police departments to host prescription take back days because pharmacies are not legally allowed to take them back from customers.

"Unfortunately, right now, pharmacies can not take back medications," Schulte said. "It's just not permitted."

Schulte said, although police cannot host take back days anymore, there are other options to safely dispose of unneeded prescriptions, such as the Medsaway Medication Disposal System.

"It's just a bag you get," Schulte said. "You dump all your meds or your liquids in there and you add water. It meets all the regulations, and you can dump it in the trash at that point."